Savage: a Fighter Erotic Romance Novella

by Elliott, Christine

  I wanted to run over to him and embrace him, to wipe away the blood and sweat from his brow, but I knew I couldn’t do anything. Not now. This was between Luke and his old master. I had to keep way, if I knew what was good for me.

  “You know you can’t beat me,” Luke continued, limping towards to him. “I’m the best fighter in this goddam country. Even with a fucked up leg and blood in my eyes, you still can’t lay a finger on me. Give up. There’s no way for you to win.”

  “You know, I was once the best fighter in the country,” Mitch said, his voice equally fierce as he rubbed his shoulder. It looked dislocated, and I flinched at the painful sight of it. “I can keep up with you far more easily than you think.”

  “But you can’t beat me,” Luke spat. “There’s no point if you can’t beat me. Give up.”

  Mitch gave him a fearsome smile, the blood coating his teeth and making him look like an absolute monster in the moonlight. I could see a dark secret in his eyes, as if he knew something that we didn’t.

  I shuddered, nervous at what was coming. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was sure it would be terrible. Watching Mitch stalk toward Luke was like watching the rumble before a volcanic eruption—it felt as if everything was about to end in fire.

  “No, Stone,” Mitch said. “Of course not. I can see now that it’s quite impossible to really hurt you, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. So?” Luke asked.

  His voice contained a note of fear. He knew something terrible and clever was coming, something that he hadn’t prepared for. I could see it in his eyes.

  He glanced at me, and suddenly his eyes grew in horror.

  Before I could react or ask what was wrong, my arms were grabbed from behind. I tried to scream, but a hand slapped over my mouth and another grabbed my chest so hard I couldn’t breathe. I was suddenly surrounded by men in leather coats, all of them obviously working for that son of a bitch Mitch Vera.

  I fought against them, but they were too strong, easily pinning my arms and restraining my kicking legs. I recognized the stench of one of them, and my heart sank as I realized they were the men from the bar, the ones who had first taken me to Luke back at the motel.

  Mitch gave Luke a smirk.

  “But it’s quite possible,” he spat as he strolled towards me, “to hurt your little whore.”

  LAST CHANCE

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  “Let her go,” Luke said in a low voice.

  Mitch strode to me and held up my chin. He turned my head from side to side, inspecting my face. His mouth curved into a frown.

  “Hm. Not very pretty.”

  I tried to jerk away from him, but his hand was strong and held me there. He pulled me chin up and made me look into his eyes.

  There was something in his eyes. Something that reminded me of my stepfather, Jeff.

  I shuddered as I realized what it was.

  Oh God, he was getting off on this.

  I bit down hard on the hand covering my mouth and the man screamed, pulling it away.

  “You’re disgusting,” I spat in the moment I was free.

  Mitch’s eyes widened in admiration, and he laughed again.

  He took my face in his hand and smiled wide. “And she’s got a spirit! It will be fun to break that, won’t it Stone?”

  I saw him raise his hand and squeezed my eyes shut before the blow. It didn’t protect me. The second his skin connected with mine, I heard a sharp slap and saw stars. If Mitch looked strong, it was nothing next to how powerful he truly was. Under that silk suit was decades of fighting experience and hardened muscle. I saw now why Luke couldn’t beat him.

  “Stop—” Luke shouted.

  I sensed a note of weakness in his voice, and Mitch sensed it too.

  He turned his wide grin on Luke.

  “Are you sure, Stone?” he asked casually. He ran one finger down my neck and hesitated right above me breasts. Slowly, he dragged it down into my cleavage. “I’d love to have some fun with this one. Are you very sure I can’t?”

  “I—I….”

  “You know what I want,” Mitch said in a hard voice. His hands ran down to my stomach, caressing my hips. “Choose. Either your life or hers. Come back to me, fight my fights, win me money, and be an obedient little fighter like you’re meant to be. I’ll let this girl go free, and maybe I’ll even let you see her again if you’re good.”

  He took a step forward, looking Luke in the eye.

  “Or I’ll beat you down anyway, drag you back, and make sure the rest of your life is a living hell. And this little lady—I’ll make sure she’s taken very well care of.”

  Luke’s chest rose and fell raggedly, the sweat dripping down his forehead. His eyes flitted from Mitch to me, his fists shaking and the vein in his neck pulsing.

  “Don’t worry,” Mitch said coolly, keeping his eyes locked on Luke. “If you choose not to come with me, you can see still her again. I’ll make you watch when I’m fucking her nice and slow…. I’ll let you see her put my cock in her mouth and suck it like the little whore she is. I’ll make sure she looks you in the eye when I push her over a desk and make her mine.”

  I clenched my jaw. He was a total psychopath. I had never hated someone so much as I hated him at that moment. I longed to reach out and tear him limb from limb.

  Luke’s hands shook furiously and I could practically hear the steady, deafening pump of his racing heart. Mitch waited silently and patiently, like he knew what was coming.

  “If I give in,” Luke said slowly. “You’ll let her go? She’ll be safe?”

  “Luke, no!” I screamed, thrashing wildly against my captors.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Mitch said quietly, not even turning his head to me. He kept his eyes fixed on Luke, waiting for his surrender. The arms around me clamped down, forcing me to be still. I could feel tears running down my hot cheek.

  “And you won’t go after her?”

  “Not unless you ask me to, Stone.”

  Luke’s jaw clenched. The veins in his neck popped and I could feel the blood rushing through his body along with the adrenalin. “I….”

  “Luke, please no!” I screamed again.

  Mitch whirled on me, his face furious. He struck me again.

  “I said shut that whore mouth of yours or I’ll give you something to put in it,” he screamed. His face had contorted. No longer was he the suave, cold psychopath from a few moments ago. Now he was insane. A total demon.

  His true face.

  He turned back to Luke. “You have five seconds, Stone. Give in now or I swear to God I’ll tear both her and you to bits. The only things they’ll find left of you are those pathetic fists. I’ll hang them up in the fucking town square to let everyone know—it doesn’t matter if you’re the greatest fighter in the world, if you cross me, I will fucking end you. Now choose!”

  Luke swallowed, the fury draining from his eyes. He looked at me one last time.

  In a dry, hollow voice, he finally said: “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  His voice was weak and quiet, the firm and vicious threat he had used a moment ago missing from it. My head fell, and I could no longer support myself. I felt weak. Everything felt weak. Their grips on me loosened a little, and it was all I could do to cross my arms over myself again, desperate for any kind of comfort.

  “Luke,” I whispered.

  Mitch turned to me, his expression happy and victorious. He clapped his hands together happily, his grotesque grin nearly wrapping around his head.

  “Well, dear,” Mitch said, “it looks like your lover had made the right choice. Don’t you want to go thank him? Maybe on your knees?”

  “Be quiet, Mitch,” Luke growled.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” he said, approaching me. “Let’s have a show, hm? I think you need to thank me too for being such a good owner.”

  “Mitch, you fucker,” Luke yelled. “You said you’d let her go!”

  Mitch frowned.

  “I did, didn’t I?
What a shame.” He snapped at the men who held me back and made a gesture at them. “Let her go, then. She’s quite useless to us.”

  My arms were released. I grabbed them back to me, rubbing the sore places where they had held me and my twisted my arms in unnatural positions. Luke watched me recover with pained eyes.

  The men turned to him and approached. I saw him tense up for a moment, but he did not fight back. He let them take his arms and pin them behind his back.

  It made me shudder to see the light go out of his eyes.

  “Come,” Mitch ordered his men, turning from me. “Let’s go. We have some punishments to mete out.” He turned on his heel and began walking away.

  I couldn’t handle it.

  “Wait!” I shouted at them as they started to leave.

  Luke looked over at me with a pained expression, but Mitch just smirked.

  He tilted his head at me with a disgusting smile.

  “Yes?”

  “Come back,” I growled.

  His smirk grew wider as Luke yelled at me to run. Mitch strolled forward easily, a bounce in his step that was too lighthearted for the life-and-death situation that was going on. He locked eyes with me as he approached, stopping only an inch or two from me.

  “And what do you have to say, dear?”

  I glared at him with my most murderous face.

  “You can’t leave with him.”

  Mitch and his men erupted into thunderous laughter. Luke’s face grew even more pained, and I could see him begging me to run with his eyes. But I couldn’t move.

  I had to do this. It was Luke’s only chance.

  It was my only chance.

  “Because you forgot something,” I said weakly, pulling myself up to my full height. Mitch gained an amused expression, leaning forward so that he filled every inch of my space. I could feel his disgustingly hot breath on my neck and remembered what he had said before.

  It made me hate him even more.

  “And that would be?” he asked lazily, putting his face so close to mine that our noses were just a millimeter apart.

  I looked him in the eye, suddenly unafraid.

  I was going to do this, I realized. I had nothing left to lose.

  “Those darts still have serum in them, you son of a bitch,” I hissed as I plunged the one I had hidden in my pocket deep into his chest.

  Time stood still for a moment as everyone realized what happened.

  In an instant, Mitch grasped at his chest as his men started roaring and screaming. Mitch’s eyes grew wide as he realized how far I had buried the dart into his heart. He would have no time—the serum was already pumping through his body in every vein.

  And there was so much that a direct hit to his heart was deadly. We both knew it.

  His eyes turned dark as they slid onto me.

  “You little bitch,” he seethed.

  He reached out an arm to grab me by the hair, but I had learned a thing or two watching them fight. I dodged it and began to run under his arm.

  “Luke, run!” I screamed as Mitch grabbed me by the arm. He twisted it sharply behind my back and I gasped and winced in pain.

  “You … little … bitch!” Mitch screamed, throwing me against the wall.

  “Don’t touch her,” Luke roared. I watched him thrash so violently against the men that held him that they were thrown off of him. He began charging forward as Mitch stalked to me.

  “I … will tear you … to … pieces,” Mitch rasped. I saw his hands shake. His breathing had become labored. The serum was already taking hold. He leapt forward to grab me by the neck, but his movements were just slow enough that I could escape it.

  Before he could reach for me again, Luke grabbed him by the neck and forced him up to look him in the eye. Mitch stared at him with pure venom in his gaze.

  “You will never touch her again,” Luke growled.

  “I … I….”

  I watched as Mitch went limp in his arms.

  There was a moment of silence.

  Luke turned to the men behind us and looked each of them in the eye.

  “Do any of you want to challenge me?”

  They were silent.

  “Do any of you really think you can take me? Do you think it’s worth it?”

  Still silence.

  “Good. Now get the fuck out of here before I decide to punish you for what you’ve done.” He snarled those last words with a curl in his lip and a deadly look in his eye.

  Without wasting another moment, the men took off, leaving us alone in the middle of the alley. I watched as the last of them stumbled after the rest of the pack.

  Luke turned to me. His face had gone soft and compassionate now that we were alone.

  “Anna,” he breathed.

  “What are we going to do now?” I asked, my hands shaking as I took in the sight. Mitch’s dead body laid at our feet, covered in blood and bruises. The lights had dimmed now and we were only barely lit. I looked up at Luke where he stood, his fists bloodied and hurt.

  We locked eyes for a minute, and he strode to me.

  Luke picked me up in a kiss, crushing me to him.

  “We’re getting the hell out of here,” he whispered. “And never coming back.”

  THE HONEYMOON

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  “Room for two?” the man at the front desk asked me two months later. I stood in the lobby of a swanky hotel, one with floors made of marble and ceilings domed with crystal chandeliers. The hotel was located in one of the most expensive parts of Las Vegas—which was very Luke, I had to admit—which meant I had no idea how much the room must have cost, though I suspected it had enough zeroes to make me dizzy.

  Outside, the glitz and glamour of the casinos twinkled into the night. I felt strange to be alone here, but then again, being alone at all felt strange lately. It was like Luke had become a vital part of me. Being without him felt like being without my lungs, unable to breathe.

  “Yes,” I told him as a bellboy took my single suitcase.

  “I see it’s the … honeymoon penthouse suite?” the desk man said lightly with a knowing smile.

  I blushed. “Yes, yes it is.”

  He glanced down at my finger. The diamond engagement ring had been there for the last four weeks, a special one that Luke had picked out himself from a pawn shop just outside the city limits. I had been in such shock when he popped it out that he was afraid he had given me a stroke. Luckily my screams of ‘yes’ had assured him I was fine.

  The man behind the desk nodded to himself as he signature a few forms and clicked around on the computer.

  “He’s a very lucky man, ma’am,” he said with a bright smile as he slipped me our room keys. “It’s all yours for the next three days. Our help line is always waiting and we have room service on request. Make sure to ring us whenever you have a question or concern.”

  “Of course,” I said, the blood beginning to pump through my veins. The reality of the situation was really starting to hit me. “Thank you.”

  The room was in the top floor, and my jaw dropped when the bellboy unlocked it for me. It wasn’t a room—it was a palace. I had only ever seen places this luxurious in movies. I walked in in a daze, finding a seat in one of the massive lounge sofas before I fainted to the floor. My eyes were wide and I’m sure I looked crazy. The bellboy asked if I needed a glass of water or a doctor. I waved him off.

  A few minutes after the bellboy left, my phone (another new gift from Luke, who had recently taken to showering me in things we didn’t need and couldn’t take with us on the road, though that didn’t deter him) began buzzing. A new text from Luke, I realized. I checked it, and my heart fluttered when I read the message:

  9PM. Be naked.

  Yes, sir.

  Sure enough, when the clock struck nine, Luke walked in the door. He stumbled a little—the lights were low, and I had kept everything dim except for my place on the massive California king bed. He made it to room, laughing about how ri
diculous I was being, but he stopped completely when he caught sight of me.

  I watched his eyes grow large, his lips parting for a moment.

  I took his breath away.

  “Jesus, Anna,” he said hoarsely. I leaned forward, showing off a few of my naked curves for him, delighted with the way even a glimpse of my flesh could do things like that to him.

  He strode forward, sweeping me up into his arms and pulling my mouth to his for a kiss. His tongue traced my lips and then slipped into my mouth, and I gladly opened it for him. One of his hands traveled down to my ass, and I felt him squeeze me tightly. I melted in his tattooed, muscled arms. Surely this must be what Heaven feels like.

  After a while, those strong arms pushed me down onto the bed. I watched him run his hands over my naked skin eagerly. He cupped my breast and brought his mouth to it, tenderly sucking on the nipple. His other hand reached down between my legs and began rolling circles into my clit again. I shut my eyes and threw my head back, taking the feel of it in.

  His mouth moved away from my breast, and my eyes fluttered open as he kissed a trail down my stomach. He parted my legs again, but I got a mischievous smile on my face. I raised one leg and playfully kicked him away.

  “Not me, not tonight,” I said with a sultry, seductive look. “Let me have some fun this time.” His confused look melted into one of pure, raw lust as he saw me slip off the bed and onto my knees before him.

  “Go ahead, darlin’,” he breathed roughly. “I’m all yours.”

  I stroked the crotch of his pants lightly with one finger, and his eyes fixed on it, intense and passionate. When I unzipped him, I made it slow and torturous, delaying what he wanted so much with a flirty, knowing smile.

  “God,” he growled. “Don’t you know what you do to me?”

  I found his cock and brought it out, stroking the length of it again slowly, enjoying the sight of his eyes growing wilder and more desperate by the moment. His cock was massive in my small hands, and I couldn’t wait to get it in my mouth. I looked him in the eyes and smiled.